Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
Dedicated animal expert MARION GARNETT, founder of the Ealing Animal Welfare Bazaar, continues her column
IT seems that Bracken is taking the new Battersea Dogs and Cats Home television advertisement very seriously.
In the advert, Battersea sets out how they prepare animals for their new home by giving them full check ups and having them microchipped and vaccinated so that, by the time they are ready for homing, they are happy well-cared for animals.
Not content with just being happy, this stunning Saluki is described by Battersea as being the life and soul of any party.
In his excitement, Battersea say he can be “a little silly”.
Bracken needs a new owner who can channel this energy into fun activities. It would help if he could live with another dog who could be a role model for him.
If you would like to home this lively boy, you can meet him at Battersea Old Windsor, Priest Hill, Englefield Green.
When you look at the animals that need rehoming at Battersea and the other rehoming centres regularly featured in this column, you can have confidence the animals are well-cared for while they wait for a home and that the centres will do their best to ensure they go to suitable homes.
This is not the case for all the hundreds of thousands of animals sold via online adverts. For any person concerned about animal welfare, these adverts make uncomfortable reading, as the scale of the trade becomes apparent.
Battersea is part of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG), chaired by Dogs Trust, consisting of animal welfare organisations, trade associations and veterinary bodies who work to promote responsible pet advertising in what is, at present, a poorly regulated online trade.
Although PAAG has constructed minimum standards for online sites to follow such as ensuring no pet is advertised for sale before it is weaned, these standards are only voluntary.
PAAG are currently working with the government to ensure that when new regulations come into force next year, some of these standards will be compulsory. Meanwhile, if you have bought an animal from a classified ad or website that has turned out to be poorly or a problem pet, PAAG would like to hear from you. You can contact them at admin@paag.org.uk.
When you see the health and happiness of the animals in the Battersea advert, it makes you question the logic of buying a pet online when you can get one which has already been health checked, microchipped, vaccinated and neutered from one of our local, reputable rehoming centres.